The Onerahi Causeway is a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

in the Northland Region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It links the suburb of

Onerahi Onerahi, for half a century known as Grahamtown, is a seaside suburb of Whangārei, New Zealand's northernmost city. It is the city's only seaside suburb. It is located 9 km south-east of the centre of Whangārei and is principally a peninsu ...

with the city of Whangārei and is approximately 5 km long. The causeway is built across the marshes and seabed of the upper

Whangārei Harbour Whangārei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour stretches from Whangārei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Oce ...

. It carries approximately 20,000 vehicles a day on Riverside Drive and is one of the regions busiest roads.

History

The Onerahi causeway was built between 1950 and 1953 by the Whangarei County due to a better link being needed between Whangārei and the areas of

Parua Bay Parua Bay is a locality and bay on the northern side of the Whangarei Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. Whangarei is 19 km to the west, and Whangarei Heads are 10 km to the south east, with Munro Bay between the two. The western he ...

, Whangārei Heads and

Whangarei Airport Whangārei Airport is an airport to the south east of Whangārei city, in the suburb of Onerahi, on the east coast of Northland in the North Island of New Zealand. The airport has a single terminal with two gates. History The first aerodrome ...

. The road that was existing at the time followed the northern shores of the Whangārei Harbour, with a series of small one lane bridges crossing the streams that entered the harbour, such as the Awaroa River, and Mackesy Stream. The old piles are still present today. The construction involved draining areas of the harbour, such as the area inland of Kissing Point, and building up the road surface to avoid flooding during

Spring Tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

. This resulted in the new road being straight, very flat and requiring 3 bridges to be built. The construction of the causeway also included the laying of council infrastructure, such as sewerage and water supplies to Onerahi, and the eventual closure of the waste treatment works at Onerahi. The completed works greatly improved travel to Onerahi, which was neglected when the Onerahi Branch Railway was closed in 1933. In 2016, a

cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...

was constructed along the causeway and involved some widening of the reclamation. The 6 km cycleway was built to link the Waimahanga Walkway and Hatea Loop, and reduce hazards to people walking and cycling from Onerahi to central Whangārei.

Future

The causeway carrying Riverside Drive is a major arterial route, linking the growing populations of Onerahi and Whangārei Heads to Whangārei. Provisions are set aside to four-lane the road by 2025, as it can become congested at peak times. It is likely to be included into the planned Onerahi Bypass, when it is constructed.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Whangārei

History

Future

See also

References